I’d definitely recommend this book. I first read it at BYU for a Women’s Lit class. At the time I was looking for ways that Margaret Hale asserts her independence in the novel and I found some great examples in her refusals of the proposals. I pointed out how Margaret didn’t actually accept Thornton until she was an independent woman with wealth of her own.
This time around I read the book because I really liked the movie. This time I was reading it for the love story and it was all there too. My mom calls this book and movie the new Pride and Prejudice, and I’d agree with her. It’s the Pride and Prejudice of England’s Industrial age. The classes are shifting and there are consequences that are interesting to read about. On one hand, Gaskell is looking at the relationship between workers and masters. On the other, she is looking at the relationship between the old gentry and the new rich. There’s plenty of pride and prejudice to be found. One thing I especially like is how Gaskell shows us both sides. We get to see and hear Margaret’s point of view, but we are also allowed inside Mr. Thornton’s head. I’d definitely recommend the movie and the book. Don’t expect them to be exactly the same—they’re not, but both are very very good.
7 comments:
Thanks for the heads-up!
yea! Thanks for the recommendation. I am definitely going to read it now. Any other good books floating around in your head right now?
Sounds like great reading.
For those of you who do end up reading it, I'd love to know what you thought.
Em, I have a whole stack of books on my nightstand that I haven't read yet so those are the ones floating around in my head, but some of my favorite reads that you might like are:
Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Katie, I just saw that Peace like a river is going to be a movie in the next year or two.
I too have an Elizabeth Gaskell favorite...Wives and Daughters..have you read it? It is great and the movie is just as good! It is a fat,fat book, but me and all the ladies here LOVE it!! It is right up there with Pride and Prejudice too..now, I am going to have to look up North and South... I am so excited for a new read!! Yipee!
Jen, Thanks for the heads up. Have you read the book? Did you like it?
Laura, I have seen Wives and Daughters and have also read the book, but I was a little disappointed about the book's ending--she died before she finished it!! Needless to say, I like how the movie ended much better :)
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